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February 4, 2010

Indie Week: Anamanaguchi

I could provide an actual photo of the band, but that would ruin the awesomeness. Plus, this one has an octopus. Anamanaguchi is probably the most unique band we'll be highlighting all week. They don't just make any old music, they make 8-bit music. Just as a note, this is to make up for my lack of update yesterday.

Band info:

Anamanaguchi is a chiptune punk band from New York City that "makes loud, fast music with a hacked NES from 1985." The band has four members: lead songwriter Peter Berkman, bassist James DeVito, guitarist Ary Warnaar and drummer Luke Silas. Akin to other chiptune artists, Anamanaguchi creates music using synthesizers, albeit unconventional ones: namely a hacked NES and Game Boy. However, unlike most chiptune bands, Anamanaguchi employs live electric guitar, bass and drums on top of said synthesized music to create a fusion of digital and traditional sounds. From a technical standpoint, their music resembles that of video games from the mid to late 1980s; however, Berkman states that video games are not the band's only inspiration, as their songwriting is also driven by "simple pop stuff, like Weezer and the Beach Boys."

Discography:

Power Supply (2006)

Dawn Metropolis (2009)

Review: Power Supply

1. "Sting Operation"- A nice way to start off the album. It's a very catchy tune. One that might come in handy to us in the near future... It's hard to describe this song. I mean, it sounds like video game music, yet it flows like a real song. Awesome.
2. "Helix Nebula"- This one is absolutely instantly recognizable. I honestly wish I could turn on the radio and hear this song playing. GamesRadar uses this song to open their podcast.

3. "Airbase"- This track reminds me of an oldschool action game of some kind. With guns. Like Contra or something.

4. "Video Challenge"- This one sounds even more retro than the last few, but the guitar is also more prominent as well. How that works, I cannot explain.

5. "Fast Turtle"- Man, this one sounds really familiar. It sounds like it was ripped straight out of some old NES game.

6. "Flora/Fauna"- Interesting. I'm getting a few different vibes here. First is Zelda. It's like someone turned OoT 8-bit. Second is, well, any other game for the NES. It's got kind of an ambient sound while still being bleep-bloop.

7. "Power Supply"- It's 8-bit dance music! Nice way to end it.

There's nothing else quite like Anamanaguchi. If you enjoy 8-bit tunes, you owe it to yourself to check these guys out. You can download Power Supply for free (legally!) here. And why the hell would you not? Also be sure to check out the site for their latest album Dawn Metropolis. You can listen to the album in its entirity in a very... unique way. It's one of the coolest websites I've ever seen for a band.